project: graduation

my friend sheryl, who i made the depression cake for, was planning her grad school graduation party, and in the discussions I agreed to make her a vegan cake. Initially, she requested a banana cake with peanut butter and chocolate, however I was unable to find a banana cake recipe that would be perfect for a party (people tend to be picky about banana things), so after a trial run of banana versus chocolate, we decided that her cake would be chocolate and peanut butter. i did not want to just use the same recipe that i used for her birthday cake, so i tried out a similar one that got great reviews. the samples were devoured, and we had a winner on our hands!

the day before the party i made the cake, and much to my disappointment, it did not rise enough to cut and fill, so i had to make a second. the icing wouldn’t spread so i ended up using a lot more than i intended, requiring another trip to the store. when i picked up the top layer and placed it on, it of course cracked. this is one of the challenges of vegan baking, and of going bigger (this was a half-sheet, rather than a 9″ round like i usually do). through lots of practice in spackling walls, i managed to completely cover up the cracks and hold it together (the cake, and myself). i thinned out the icing to get it to spread, and since the ganache recipe i found online was not working out so well i went with the “winging it” approach, which seemed to work out pretty well.

i have to admit, at a few points i wondered what i had gotten myself into and thought perhaps i should just stick to smaller cakes, since this was yet more proof that i am not exactly the best at decorating large cakes…but if i want to get better, i must practice! ultimately, the cake did not come out as perfect as i wanted it to, but i got tons of compliments on it. it always feels good when people ask what bakery my goods came from!

oh, and of course, since this is me… the project was not without casualty. the box kinda sorta knocked over a decorative tealight lamp i had on my ledge…which i just remembered now that i am yet to clean up. oops.

Recipe:

Cake, from AllRecipes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth.
3. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Icing (from vegan cupcakes take over the world; i doubled it below, and then played around adding more of each thing until it was the desired consistency)-

1/2 cup margarine, softened (NOT melted; if you melt it, you will need a bag of powdered sugar to make it the right consistency)

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp soy milk, plus a little extra

Put everything except soy milk into a bowl. Combine with an electric mixer. Once it’s well-blended (it will be very stiff), add a tablespoon of soy milk and blend some more. Add a little soy milk/keep beating until you reach the right consistency. It should be very light tan and fluffy.